-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Remember the time United Airlines broke a guitar ? Dave Carroll does .

He 's the musician who three years ago turned his misfortune into an Internet sensation . His video , `` United Breaks Guitars , '' got a million views in just four days and prompted the airline to offer him compensation . But despite struggling with the airline for months , Carroll turned down the money because he wanted something bigger : he wanted to reform the system .

Carroll is not the first angry customer to take his complaints online .

Rants abound on video sharing sites ; many feature nothing more than the offended party on a webcam spinning a tale of woe . That 's what made Carroll 's video stand out . The Canadian crooner spent seven months putting together a song and video . His real time and real talent combined to make something that people could really enjoy .

`` If you are ranting or raving , people will listen for a second , but they wo n't want to join your cause , '' Carroll explains . After months of struggling with United , that 's what Carroll had -- a cause .

HLN 's Clark Howard has a cause , too . He covers all things consumer-related and to Carroll 's advice , he suggests adding another element : `` Something that makes people laugh and makes them angry at the same time . ''

One Atlanta couple , Ken and Meredith Williams , recently learned first hand how this mix of outrage and humor can get the public on your side and sway a large corporation .

Their story starts about six months ago when the newlyweds found themselves in a rather intractable situation trying to buy their first home . `` We knew that the people we were dealing with were n't hateful people , '' Meredith recalls , but along their 78-day odyssey they could n't help but wonder .

After meeting in graduate school , the couple got married and moved to Atlanta . Then came time to buy their first home .

The two had good jobs , steady income and they wanted to buy a modest home within their financial reach . `` We put in an offer on September 8th . We wanted to close -- we were told we would close , '' Ken recalls . But when `` we came up to October 7th , and nothing was appearing to be falling place . ''

Sitting around their dining room table , Ken and Meredith rattle off all the missed deadlines and infuriating delays that tangled up their lives for weeks on end . They say paperwork would n't make it to the correct office , phone calls and e-mails would go unreturned .

One of their bank contacts even quit and failed to pass along their file ; `` her e-mails just started bouncing '' Meredith says , shaking her head at the memory . All the while the couple scrambled to meet the sellers ' demands while living out of boxes . `` We were ready to unpack , '' Meredith says .

Early on , when things first started going wrong , they saved e-mails . So after missing the projected closing date , with fees beginning to pile up and only radio silence from the bank , they turned their in-boxes into a weapon .

`` I just thought we just have to do something -- there is some kind of power we can leverage '' Meredith says . So while she hit the keyboard to share the story on their blog , Ken picked up his guitar . Two hours later , he emerged , `` He was like , ' I wrote a song , ' '' Meredith giggles .

What started with a song became a custom video featuring the couple and their cats , pleading with Bank of America to the tune of `` Bret , You Got it Going On '' from the HBO show `` Flight of the Conchords . ''

`` The goal was never to get thousands of people to tweet , '' Meredith says . That 's a good thing because the video did n't exactly go viral -LRB- nothing close to Carroll 's million views -RRB- , but it did get a good deal of attention .

Local news outlets picked up the couple 's story and within 48 hours , the bank got in touch . They now had the ear of top people at the bank . With that , their hopeless situation , weeks of unreturned phone calls and volumes of paperwork came to a close . `` We wrote the song on day 72 and posted it on day 74 and we closed on day 79 , '' Ken says .

Their prize , a charming brick bungalow on a quiet street , is small and neat . As the couple walk through , they sound like many new homeowners pointing out all the projects .

`` There must have been a fire sale on molding '' says Meredith , gesturing toward the oak-filled kitchen . Some big things needed work too . The couple put in new wiring , duct work and plumbing . These projects are n't flashy or exciting , but the pair shows them off with pride . That construction , in part , explains what held up their loan , says Terry Francisco , a Bank of America spokesman .

The Williamses applied for a 203 -LRB- k -RRB- loan , which allows for renovations . Francisco says this type of loan can actually take some 90 days to close . Realtors and mortgage brokers confirmed that 203 -LRB- k -RRB- loans typically take much longer to close than a standard loan . Francisco did apologize for other hang-ups in the Williams ' case , and he said the couple 's experience prompted `` a tightening of procedures '' at the bank .

The combination of humor and an outrageous story got the Williams the attention they needed . The combination worked for Carroll too .

His efforts not only got him offers of compensation but even now , three years on , he travels around the world bringing his mix of music and message to places such as Russia , Australia and soon South Africa . He also published a book about his experience and launched a website , Gripevine.com , that helps people elevate and escalate their problems .

Looking back , both the Williamses and Carroll say the intent behind the video is as important to getting noticed as the message .

`` I 'm not against companies , I 'm not trying to take down companies , '' Carroll says . Rather , they agree , it 's about giving companies and the people who work for them the opportunity to make things right . But even if a viral video does n't get you want you want , all three say the process affords a measure of control -- something they 'd lost in what Carroll calls the `` customer service maze '' and Meredith called the `` black hole of customer service . ''

So it 's no surprise that all three say they would make another video if they found themselves in a similar situation .

For others contemplating going this route , Carroll says `` make sure that you are fair and you are articulate and you are creative and that your story resonates with other people . '' It also does n't hurt to be good with a guitar .

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Meredith and Ken Williams made a video in exasperation after home loan delays

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Dave Carroll 's song about an airline breaking his guitar became a Web sensation

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Carroll advises that complaint videos be light on vitriol , heavy on facts

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HLN 's Clark Howard says the videos should be funny and infuriating at the same time